OTTAWA - The Canadian government on Monday announced a bill to ban so-called "conversion therapy," which tries to change the sexual orientation of young LGBT people.
The bill would create five new offenses in the Canadian criminal code, including prohibiting subjecting a minor to the practice, either in Canada or abroad.
An adult would also not be able to undergo conversion therapy against his or her will, and no one would be allowed to profit from or advertise it.
If the bill passes, Canada's laws on conversion therapy would become some of the "most progressive and comprehensive in the world," David Lametti, the minister of justice, told reporters while presenting the bill to parliament.
Two adults who had been forced to undergo conversion therapy in childhood testified on about their experiences.
"I'm a survivor of conversion therapy," said Erika, a trans woman.
"My body is a prison because of what my conversion therapist did to me, and I live with that every day," she said in a vehement denunciation of the practice.
The bill's adoption by parliament appears all but assured, even though Justin Trudeau's Liberal government is the minority in the House of Commons. The left-wing New Democratic Party has already announced it intends to back the bill.
The bill states that conversion therapy causes harm not only to the victims but also to society, particularly because the practice is founded on and helps spread myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation and gender identity, including the myth that sexual orientation and gender identity can and should be changed.
The law would define conversion therapy as "any service, practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual, gender identity to one that matches the sex assigned at birth, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviors."
According to a recent official survey, 47,000 Canadian men who identify as part of a minority sexuality group had been subjected to conversion therapy.
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Agence France-Presse
A brief kiss between two women in the new "Star Wars" movie was cut from the version released in Singapore, local media said.
"The Rise of Skywalker", the conclusion to the nine "Star Wars" films that stars Daisy Ridley, was released in the Asian city-state on Thursday.
The film contains a brief scene where two minor female characters share a kiss -- but the moment is omitted in the version screened in Singapore, according to Yahoo Lifestyle SEA.
The news site reported on Friday that the women were seen embracing but not kissing.
A spokesperson from Singapore's media regulatory agency told Yahoo and other local online media that a short scene had been cut from the release, but did not specify which one.
"Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker has been rated PG13 for theatrical release in Singapore," the spokesperson said.
"The applicant has omitted a brief scene which under the Film Classification Guidelines would require a higher rating."
The agency did not immediately respond to an inquiry from AFP.
Under the guidelines, films containing LGBT themes or content as a subplot may be restricted to viewers aged 18 and above, while films focusing on homosexuality may be hit with a 21-and-over age rating.
Although open support for gay rights has grown in recent years, official attitudes towards homosexuality are often highly conservative in Singapore.
Sex between men is remains technically illegal under a colonial-era law, albeit one that is not actively enforced.
The scene in "Rise of Skywalker", the first same-sex kiss in the franchise's history, was hailed as historic by some, but the fleeting moment between two peripheral characters was criticised as tokenism by fans hoping for greater LGBT representation.
Disney did not immediately respond to an inquiry from AFP.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MALMÖ, SWEDEN - Two Eves on one side of the tree, two Adams on the other, each couple openly flirting: a Swedish diocese said Wednesday it would remove a gay depiction of original sin that hung briefly as an altarpiece.
Created by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, the photo illustration was offered to the Saint Paul Church in Malmo where it was placed to the right of the main altarpiece on the first Sunday of Advent, December 1.
On Wednesday the diocese said it would remove it from the altar -- but not because the Lutheran Church of Sweden had a problem with the gay couples.
Perched in the tree, a transsexual woman is dressed as a serpent, dangling a snake from her hand.
"The fact that there are two homosexual couples in the artwork is completely uncontroversial," the diocese wrote in a statement.
"But the fact that there is a snake, which traditionally symbolizes evil, and that it turns into a transperson could lead to the interpretation that a transperson is evil or the devil."
"The Swedish Church can absolutely not stand for that."
The pastor of Saint Paul, Sofia Tunebro, regretted the decision.
"We've been marrying gay couples for 10 years, and with this artwork, it was a bit like hanging up a wedding photo in the church," she told AFP.
"Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin has done so much for the integration and representation of (LGBTQ people) in the Christian world," said Tunebro, who was ordained 12 years ago.
The 58-year-old artist -- who made headlines 20 years ago with her controversial Ecce Homo exhibit, featuring among other things Jesus in stilettos surrounded by 12 transvestite apostles -- said she too was disappointed.
"My calling has been to create Christian works which LGBTQ people can identify with," she told AFP.
The Church of Sweden, headed by a female archbishop since 2014, was among the first in the world to ordain female priests in 1958, and to marry homosexuals, in 2009.
Also in 2009, Eva Brunne was elected the first openly lesbian bishop in the world, according to Swedish media.
"The Church of Sweden wants to be a modern church and follow changes in society," Magdalena Nordin, a professor of religion at the University of Gothenburg, told AFP.
cbw/po/har
Agence France-Presse
TAIPEI - Some two hundred thousand revelers marched through Taipei in a riot of rainbow colors and celebration on Saturday as Taiwan held its first pride parade since making history in Asia by legalizing gay marriage.
The island has long hosted the region's largest pride marches but this year Taiwan's LGBT community and their supporters had an extra reason to celebrate.
In May, lawmakers took the unprecedented decision to legalize same-sex marriages, becoming the first place in Asia to do so.
Over 2,000 couples have since wed, many of them taking part in Saturday's festival.
"I am very excited because it's the first pride parade after same-sex marriages are recognized and I got married," said Shane Lin, who became one of the first to wed his partner in the days after the new law came in.
"I am very moved that people around the world are joining us," the 31-year-old said.
Behind him passed a stready stream of color, from dancers with gym-honed bodies to unicorn floats and rainbow balloon arches.
"I support marriage equality because it is a basic human right," Henry Wu, a heterosexual teacher who brought his five-year-old son to the march, told AFP.
"Taiwan made huge progress in legalizing same-sex marriages ... I feel very proud we are the first in Asia to do so," he added.
In the last decade, Taiwan has become increasingly progressive on gay rights with Taipei home to a thriving LGBT community and increasingly large pride marches.
Organizers estimated more than 200,000 people attended Saturday's festivities.
But the issue of same-sex equality has deeply polarized society.
[BOLD] Landmark ruling, conservative backlash
Taiwan's Constitutional Court made a landmark ruling in 2017 to legalize gay marriage and ruled its decision must be implemented within two years.
Conservative and religious groups mobilized to oppose amending the Civil Code and comfortably won a series of referendums last November in which voters rejected defining marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman.
In May, conservative lawmakers put forward rival bills that offered something closer to limited same-sex unions but those measures ultimately failed in parliament.
Opponents have vowed to punish incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen and the lawmakers who supported the gay marriage law at January 11 elections when voters will elect both a new president and a new parliament.
But it remains to be seen whether the issue will harm her on the campaign trail, especially in more rural and conservative places, during an election that will more likely be dominated by the relationship with China and local economic issues.
Taiwan's gay marriage law still contains restrictions not faced by heterosexual couples.
Same-sex couples can currently only adopt their partners' biological children and can only wed foreigners from countries where gay marriage is also recognized.
"Marriage equality is the beginning, it's not the end," said Leong Chin-fai, a 31-year-old Macanese national who is currently unable to wed his Taiwanese partner.
"We hope to keep pushing for issues including recognition of international marriages, parental and adoption rights," he added.
Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning gay rights movement in Asia. It is also praised as a "beacon" of democracy in the region for its democratic reforms and civil liberties since it emerged from one of the world's longest periods of martial law.
But International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) noted Taiwan still faces key challenges and passed a motion condemning its use of death penalty Friday as it wrapped up a week-long congress in Taipei, its first held in Asia.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MOSCOW - A Moscow court on Thursday holds a preliminary hearing in the case of a Russian man who is suing US tech giant Apple for allegedly turning him gay.
He is seeking 1 million rubles ($15,560) in damages from Apple for sending him a cryptocurrency known as GayCoin instead of the Bitcoin he had ordered.
The bizarre civil suit has been filed in a country where casual homophobia is prevalent and a law banning "propaganda" of gay relationships to minors has stifled public activism.
Representatives of the two sides are set to meet a judge at Moscow's Presnensky district court for a preliminary hearing behind closed doors starting at 9:40 am (0640 GMT).
The plaintiff, named in court papers only by his surname Razumilov, was not planning to attend in order to protect his privacy, his lawyer said.
In his complaint, seen by AFP, he says the GayCoin cryptocurrency arrived with a note saying, "Don't judge until you try."
The complaint says Razumilov downloaded a cryptocurrency app from Apple Store but received a transfer of 69 of the GayCoin instead of the Bitcoins he ordered.
"I thought, in truth, how can I judge something without trying? I decided to try same-sex relationships," the complainant wrote.
"I decided to try single-sex relations. Two months later, I can say that I have got stuck in intimate relations with a representative of my sex and I can't manage to get back."
'Harm and suffering'
The man is suing for damages for "moral harm and mental suffering".
"For him, this is a big blow to his reputation, because he doesn't know how to tell his parents and he knows that he won't be understood," his lawyer Sapizhat Gusnieva told AFP.
"We live in Russia after all, so these things are complicated."
She said that her client had ended up breaking up a stable heterosexual relationship with his girlfriend.
Groups campaigning for gay rights in Russia point to ongoing repercussions from the homophobic law banning "propaganda" of gay relationships to minors, which allows for discrimination against gay people.
Russia only decriminalized homosexuality in 1993 after the end of the Soviet Union and it was considered a mental illness until 1999.
In July the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Russia over its refusal to register three associations defending LGBT rights.
Lawyer Gusnieva argued that suing Apple is justified in this case, despite the alleged exchange taking place on a third-party app.
"Apple allowed this company to work with them. They let people download the app. So they will have to answer for it," she said.
She said that on Thursday she would ask Apple for contacts of the company that put the GayCoin currency online.
Apple's representatives in Russia did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.
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NAIROBI - Thousands of gay men in Africa are likely dying from HIV-related illnesses every year due to homophobic laws that stifle their chances of being tested and treated, said researchers behind a study published on Monday in The Lancet HIV journal.
A study of the data of 45,000 gay men in 28 African countries including Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria found only one in four living with HIV were taking medication.
Half had taken an HIV/AIDS test in the past 12 months and researchers said the low rates were due to anti-LGBT+ laws in many African countries, which promoted stigma and discrimination and neglected HIV/AIDS programs targeting gay men.
"We found countries that had more repressive anti-LGBT laws or harsher penalties for same sex relations had lower levels of HIV testing," said Kate Mitchell, one of the researchers at Imperial College London who was involved in the study.
"Some of the studies suggested that this was due to stigma. More research is required to see whether, if these laws were repealed, more gay men would be tested and treated."
According to the United Nations, about 470,000 people living with HIV in Africa still die every year because they cannot or do not get tested and gain access to treatment, accounting for more than 60 percent of all global HIV-related deaths.
While there are no official figures on the number of deaths of men who have sex with men (MSM), Mitchell said it would be fair to estimate that thousands of gay men who were unaware or unable to get medication were dying every year.
African countries have some of the world's most prohibitive laws governing homosexuality. Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and gay sex is a crime across most of continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.
A 2019 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association found 32 African countries out of a total of 54 nations criminalize same sex relations. South Africa is the only African nation to legalize gay marriage.
Gay rights groups say the laws promote homophobia across the continent and are used daily to persecute and discriminate against sexual minorities who face prejudice in getting jobs, renting housing or seeking medical care or education.
Hate crimes like blackmail, extortion, physical and sexual assault are common - but most are too fearful to go to the police due to their sexual orientation, say rights groups.
"Globally, men who have sex with men are about 28 times more likely to be living with HIV than men in the general population, an inequality that is particularly apparent in sub-Saharan Africa, where the human rights of MSM are often violated," said the study.
"These attitudes also create barriers to implementing effective HIV research, policy and health programs for MSM, through prohibition of activism and research, arbitrary arrests of health-care providers, and disruption of services provided by community-based and non-governmental organisations."
LGBT+ rights campaigners in Kenya, where gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in jail, said they were not surprised by the results of the study.
"It is true the law makes if very difficult for MSM to seek medical treatment. Many people fear they will be outed or face some kind of abuse or be shamed by insensitive medical practitioners," said Andrew Maina, program coordinator at HIVOS.
"If these anti-gay laws are scrapped, there will be more openness, more advocacy and more awareness of the issue. Gay men living with HIV would be able to seek medical care knowing they will be treated with respect and dignity."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WARSAW - Poland's October general election is shaping up to be dominated neither by the economy nor politics as the devout Catholic country goes to war over LGBT rights, denounced by the governing conservatives and an archbishop as a "threat" to their way of life.
Homosexuality became the hottest electoral issue after PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski condemned gay rights as a "threat" in April and put the issue high on his party's campaign agenda.
The leftist opposition has seized recent sparring over LGBT as an opportunity to slam the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party for its close alliance with the influential Catholic Church.
"For the PiS, it's political fuel. It allows the party to reaffirm its political identity, its attachment to traditional values in the face of the wave of Westernization," political analyst Stanislaw Mocek told AFP.
"But the other side has also found a political weapon there, in the form of defending minority rights."
Poland remains staunchly Catholic and conservatives are increasingly campaigning against LGBT, or gender "ideology" which they believe threatens traditional family values.
In May, a woman put up posters of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo, prompting police to detain her for "desecration".
Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski tweeted: "All that nonsense about freedom and 'tolerance' doesn't give ANYONE the right to insult the faithful's beliefs."
In July, a court ordered news magazine Gazeta Polska to halt the distribution of anti-gay stickers reading "This is an LGBT-free zone".
The caption picked up on a trend at local government level where PiS allies have declared themselves "free of LGBT ideology".
Also last month, weekend violence marred the first gay pride parade in the eastern Polish city of Bialystok where football hooligans, some with far-right sympathies, attacked marchers and police.
The incident sparked a series of protests with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki condemning the violence but failing to speak out against the anti-LGBT campaign.
'Rainbow plague'
This month, Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski added fuel to the fire when he used a sermon to warn against the LGBT movement.
"The red plague no longer runs on our land," the clergyman said, referring to communism.
"But a new plague has emerged, neo-Marxist, that wants to seize our souls, hearts and spirits. A plague that is not red but rainbow."
The uproar was immediate: Poles took to the streets in Warsaw and the southern city of Krakow, brandishing rainbow flags and shouting "Shame!" and "Resign!".
YouTube initially blocked a recording of the sermon, then reinstated it.
A member of the Dominican religious order, Pawel Guzynski, urged Poles to write letters calling for the archbishop's resignation.
Other faithful took to the airwaves of the conservative Catholic station Radio Maryja to call for letters to be sent to the Vatican defending Jedraszewski.
Another episode in the LGBT battle looks set to take place at Saturday's gay pride parade in the central city of Plock, with members of the far-right planning to protest.
Around 50 residents sent the mayor a letter asking him to withdraw his patronage of the event.
'Ideological campaign'
Conservative Catholics believe Poland is the target of an "ideological campaign" by LGBT circles, backed and financed by international organizations such as the ILGA-Europe rights groups' network.
The argument was notably made by Marcin Przeciszewski, the head of Poland's KAI Catholic information agency.
In support, he cited the anti-discrimination "LGBT+ declaration" adopted by Warsaw city hall in February, as well as the conclusions of a congress that united dozens of activist groups in the Polish capital in March.
Przeciszewski added that legislation has been drafted in favor of civil unions and gay marriage, though such texts have no chance of a green light from the current PiS-controlled parliament.
For Mocek, the debate touches on the nature of democracy.
"According to a traditional definition of democracy, the majority governs and must protect the rights of the minority," he said.
"But for the PiS, since the majority governs, it has the right to impose its will, and that's something that could lead to an attack on minority values."
Campaigning on a platform of generous social spending, PiS appears on track to win a second consecutive term in the election, according to recent opinion polls.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MUNICH, Germany - Organizers of this year's Gay Pride week in Munich have a group of rather wild partners -- penguins, giraffes and lions at the city zoo where tours are being run about same-sex love in the animal kingdom.
The Munich zoo has joined Pride week with an unusual look into the intimate lives of all creatures great and small, seeking to boost tolerance among humans.
"It is important for us to talk about" homosexuality in the animal kingdom and show that same-sex love has its place in nature, said Munich zoo spokesman Dennis Spaeth.
"Because unfortunately in Germany we see more and more people from the reactionary right attacking LGBTQI rights."
While even mostly Catholic Bavaria has grown more accepting and lawmakers legalized gay marriage in 2017, non-heterosexuals are sometimes still a target for violence.
Police recorded 91 attacks based on the victim's sexual orientation last year.
In the safe confines of the zoo, the first stop on the Pride tour is the giraffes. The blotchy animals spare visitors only occasional curious glances from behind their long eyelashes as they enjoy a meal of hay.
"Giraffes are bisexual. In some groups, 90 percent of the acts observed are in fact homosexual in nature," explained biologist Guenter Strauss.
A few enclosures down, there is little to distinguish a male-male couple of black-faced Humboldt penguins squatting together from other, mixed pairs.
That is until the guide points out that with no egg to care for, the pair has taken to brooding a rock instead.
This is no one-off fling, as "penguins conduct homosexual relationships that can last a whole lifetime, something very rare in the animal kingdom," said Strauss.
SCIENTIFIC TABOO
In fact, hundreds of animal species, from elephants to snakes and birds, display homosexual behavior.
But unlike most humans, the sexual preference of our four-legged or feathered friends is often quite fluid.
"Among people, we grow up with a specific sexual orientation. That's often not true for animals," said Strauss.
"They are in fact bisexual. They adopt certain sexual behavior at specific moments."
One case in point are lions, and the zoo's male big cat greets the group with a loud roar.
"Servus!" responded Strauss in a regional greeting redolent of traditional, conservative Bavarian culture.
"Eight percent of sex acts among lions are homosexual. As for lionesses, they only show lesbian behavior when they're kept in captivity," he explained.
While same-sex love among animals is commonplace, the topic was long a taboo for scientists of more hidebound eras.
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NEW YORK - Millions lined the streets of New York on Sunday to wave rainbow flags, celebrate the movement toward LGBTQ equality and renew calls for action in what organizers billed as the largest gay pride celebration in history.
Some 150,000 parade marchers and an estimated 4 million spectators commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising that triggered the modern LGBTQ movement, with corporate sponsorship and police protection that would have been unthinkable half a century ago.
Similar parades were being held around the world, with celebratory events in liberal democracies and growing fights for equality in other places.
North Macedonia held its first gay pride march on Saturday. In Singapore, marchers called for scrapping a law banning gay sex. In Turkey, members of Istanbul's gay and transgender community gathered for a small rally that ended with tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday after their annual march was banned for the fifth consecutive year.
"It's hard for us today, but can you even imagine what some of these people went through in the past? There's no way to thank them," said Josh Greenblatt, 25, an actor wearing red sunglasses, a white crop top, ripped jeans and gold-heeled boots at the New York event.
Greenblatt said he found his outlandish outfit "empowering," and he had plenty of competition from revelers stripping down to the barest of essentials and celebrating New York's legalization of toplessness for women.
One woman wore a skintight rainbow dress with a rainbow afro about 2 feet (60 cm) high. A shirtless man sporting rainbow-colored wings and high white platform shoes strutted up Broadway. Rainbow onesie leotards were popular, and there were plenty of colorful wigs, patent leather, fishnets and bright makeup.
The festivities were set to conclude on Sunday night with closing ceremonies at Times Square and a waterfront concert by Madonna.
ANTI-CORPORATE DISSIDENTS
The world's marquee gay pride parade was preceded on Sunday by a protest march by thousands of anti-corporate dissidents who rejected a uniformed police presence and commercial sponsorship, while demanding LGBTQ equality.
The Queer Liberation March aimed to call attention to the killing of black trans women, protest U.S. detentions of migrant children and oppose actions by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to curtail the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer people.
In San Francisco, companies such as Alphabet Inc's Google, Facebook Inc, T-Mobile and Netflix Inc lent the parade a corporate flavor. Dissidents opposing corporate sponsorship blocked an intersection of the parade route, shouting: "Stonewall was a riot."
"The system of policing upholds white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, gender binaries and capitalist rule," one San Francisco protester said over a megaphone.
Some during the events also paused to consider the state of LGBTQ rights under Trump, who has banned transgender people in the military, cut HIV/AIDS research and supported so-called religious freedom initiatives to curb LGBTQ protections.
The White House says Trump has long advocated LGBTQ equality and noted that he backed a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.
"They could turn back gay marriage. Don't ever fool yourself," said Christopher Edward Andrew, 53. "Elections matter. Votes matter." The U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in a landmark ruling in 2015.
In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided New York's Stonewall Inn, ostensibly to shut down a Mafia-owned establishment selling watered-down liquor without a license. But the raid followed a series of others at gay bars in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, and the patrons fought back, forcing police to barricade themselves inside.
That touched off several nights of riots and the birth of a movement.
New York was designated the site of World Pride this year, drawing an estimated 4 million people to the city, where straight allies joined LGBTQ people in defending civil rights.
Mary Glasspool, assistant bishop of the New York Diocese of the U.S. Episcopal Church, said all its churches in Manhattan opened their doors for visitors from across the world.
"We want to show them this is a safe space and God loves everyone," Glasspool said. "Today, it is about love."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SINGAPORE - Thousands of people took part in Singapore's annual gay pride rally on Saturday, with many calling for a law banning gay sex to be scrapped following similar measures elsewhere in the region.
Singapore joins dozens of other cities around the world in celebrating gay pride this weekend but it is the only one where gay sex is criminalized, although the law is not enforced.
Pressure for change in the city-state has increased since India's top court struck down colonial-era criminalization of homosexuality last year. Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan recently became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage.
"The majority of Singaporeans are tolerant. But for us to be accepted, we have a long way to go," said Elaine, 26, a banker who attended the rally with her girlfriend.
"But I'm happy that the government doesn't stop or disallow events like this to happen," she added, asking to give only her first name.
Under the law, a man found to have committed an act of "gross indecency" with another man could be jailed for up to two years, although prosecutions are rare. The law does not explicitly ban homosexual acts between women.
Previous legal challenges to overturn the ban have failed but shortly after the landmark Indian court ruling, a Singapore DJ filed a new court challenge against the colonial-era law.
For 32-year-old public relations executive Devane Sharma, the criminalization of gay sex has repercussions on the society even if prosecutions do not take place.
"The government often says that the law isn't really enforced so it's okay, but there are ripple effects on the rest of society, especially in matters on sexual health and workplace discrimination," Sharma said.
The gay pride rally has been held since 2009 under stringent public assembly laws at Speakers' Corner, an area set aside for demonstrations, performances and exhibitions for citizens and permanent residents only.
During its six decades since independence, Singapore has emerged as a modern, wealthy city-state.
Lawmakers, however, remain cautious over social reforms, partly due to sensitivities stemming from the ethnic and religious mix among Singapore's 5.6 million inhabitants.
But there was an optimistic mood among the marchers at Saturday's rally:
"It's a matter of time. I think within a few years, the law will (be repealed). I am hopeful," Sharma said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK - Lady Gaga electrified thousands of revelers who gathered in New York on Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LGBTQ rights movement, exhorting the crowd to honor the past by using its "power" to extend and defend a half-century of progress.
Her warm-up speech and a subsequent rally, part of a series of World Pride events in New York this week, commemorated the so-called Stonewall uprising of June 28, 1969.
Early that morning, patrons of a Greenwich Village gay bar called the Stonewall Inn rose up in defiance of police harassment, triggering days of rioting. Their resistance gave birth to the national and global movement for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer people.
Lady Gaga, a Grammy Award-winner whose signature song "Born This Way" has become an LGBTQ anthem, fired up the crowd, which began gathering in the park and public square outside the Stonewall hours earlier.
Appearing with a rainbow-colored jacket and thigh-high boots, she declared that Stonewall was the moment when LGBTQ people said "enough is enough."
"I may not, to some people, be considered a part of this community, even though I like girls sometimes. I would never degrade the fight you have endured," she told the cheering crowd. "You have the power. You are so, so powerful, and I hope you feel that power today."
Later the rally alternated between political speeches and block-party gaiety. Musical performances and rhythmic dancing rattled windows in the low-slung neighborhood. Drag queens sang '80s hits like "I'm So Excited" in between speeches by activists from countries such as Uganda and Chechnya.
US politicians including presidential hopefuls Kirsten Gillibrand, one of New York state's 2 US senators, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also took the stage ahead of what organizers are calling the largest gay pride parade in history set for Sunday, when some 150,000 marchers and 4 million spectators are expected.
In between featured speakers, impromptu rallies formed and dispersed outside the bar, with people waving homemade signs such as "Closets are for Clothes!" and "Gay Liberation Front," paying homage to the radical group that formed immediately after Stonewall.
"Get laid, get drunk, and have a party," said Martha Shelley, one of the Gay Liberation Front founders. "And then go home, roll up your sleeves, and fight."
While the anniversary has a celebratory air, activists see the occasion as a way to protest US President Donald Trump's record, which many consider hostile to LGBTQ people. They also want to highlight the still-precarious position of LGBTQ people in many parts of the world.
Police raided the Stonewall, a Mafia-owned gay bar, ostensibly to crack down on organized crime. But their mistreatment of the patrons, part of a pattern of abuse against LGBTQ people, touched off the uprising.
While celebrating 50 years of progress, many LGBTQ activists are sounding the alarm about Trump administration initiatives, including a ban on transgender people in the military, cuts in HIV/AIDS research and support for so-called religious freedom initiatives that eliminate LGBTQ protections.
The White House claims Trump has long advocated LGBTQ equality, noting that he has backed a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.
"President Trump has never considered LGBT Americans second-class citizens," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.
The message has been lost on many LGBTQ people, as the Trump administration opposes extending anti-discrimination protection to gay or transgender workers under federal employment law, a legal issue currently before the US Supreme Court, with a ruling due within a year.
In nearby Washington Square Park, some 500 pro-transgender activists staged a Trans Day of Action, where some held up "Black trans lives matter" signs, lamenting that 10 transgender people have been murdered in the United States in 2019 after 26 were killed in 2018 and 29 in 2017, according to the LGBTQ advocacy right Human Rights Campaign.
"Trump has really proliferated this hate towards us," said Qweenb. Amor, 30, a trans Latina. "It's something we're going to have to face every single day for the next 20 years, despite who wins the next election because these people who put Trump in power are people we have to work with every day of our lives."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
ZHONGLI, Taiwan - Although Jovi Wu and Mindy Chiu made history last month as one of the first lesbian couples in Asia to marry legally, they are fearful that conservatives may reverse Taiwan's landmark law.
The businesswomen and their six-year-old daughter, Allison, were verbally abused when they demonstrated in support of same-sex marriage last year, ahead of a referendum that came after the top court set a two-year deadline for legalization.
One woman took a leaflet from Allison, looked at it, threw it on the ground and then called their family "sickening and dirty", 36-year-old Chiu said from her home in a suburb of Zhongli district, an hour's drive from Taiwan's capital, Taipei.
"(I asked her) do you have to say this in front of a child - that we are sickening, we are dirty? What we are trying to say is that we're just the same, like you," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Hundreds of same-sex couples married on May 24 after President Tsai Ing-wen signed into law a bill endorsing same-sex marriage - a controversial move which has divided the self-ruled island, seen as a beacon of liberalism in Asia.
Although two-thirds of Taiwanese voters - some 7 million people - rejected the proposed reform in the November referendum, parliament passed a law legalizing gay marriage to beat the constitutional court deadline of May 24.
Far from signalling a shift towards broader acceptance of homosexuality, the couple fear the legal victory will spark a backlash from conservatives who believe marriage should remain between a man and a woman.
"It will be messy at the start," said 38-year-old Wu, who gave birth through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in Thailand - using an egg from her former partner and a sperm donor - as Taiwan does not allow surrogacy.
"Anti-homosexual groups will continue to argue how can we enjoy the same rights? How can we change Taiwan's traditions and values? They will intensify their smear campaign and continue to hurt us."
FAMILY VALUES
Wu's concerns highlight how socially conservative attitudes prevail across much of Asia, five decades after the Stonewall riots in the United States that are widely regarded as the birth of the LGBT+ rights movement.
The Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, one group seeking to overturn Taiwan's gay marriage law, said the public will "strike back" as it mobilized support to vote against Tsai in January elections, when she seeks a second term.
"If we can oust these legislators who supported same-sex marriage, there is a likelihood for change after 2020," said the group's president Tseng Hsien-ying.
"The only type of marriage people in Taiwan can accept is between a man and a woman. This (same-sex union) is destroying the institution of marriage and distorting our family values."
Growing up in an abusive family in Taiwan's rural west, repeatedly beaten up by her father, Wu wanted to give her own daughter the best she could.
Wu remembered her classmates called her a "tomboy", and her father pledged to "break her legs" and disown her when she started liking girls.
Estranged from her parents, Wu left her hometown for university in Taipei, where she joined lesbian clubs and eventually came out as gay.
When searching for a school for her daughter, Wu said many were simply not ready to accept same-sex parents – until the couple found one which had already hired gay teachers.
Still, Wu said, her daughter had to deal with questions at school about why she has two mothers, and called on the government to prioritise anti-discrimination legislation and overhaul its education system to champion LGBT+ rights.
"If the education ministry is not prepared, when these children go to school they will face intense pressure," she said. "How can they be treated equally and not be bullied?"
The lobby group Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy estimates about 300 same-sex families with children live on the self-ruled island, which China considers as its wayward province.
"It won't be an overnight change," said the group's spokeswoman Reese Li, adding that conservative groups are ramping up their smear campaign, including linking same-sex marriage to a potential rise in HIV cases.
"It will take time but once they see same-sex couples and families are no different than the others, they will accept it."
Two years ago, Wu and Chiu started a book club for children in their neighbourhood in an effort to spur discussions on equal rights for gay people and women, through story telling.
"People think we (same-sex families) don't exist, they accuse us of stealing our child from somewhere else," said Chiu, adding that her parents are still reluctant to accept her relationship with Wu, who she has lived with for four years.
"We never grew up with a lot of information about LGBT+ so we always felt we were different because other people are heterosexual."
Wu said she hoped their book club would go a small way in fighting the social stigma toward same-sex families.
"What I am trying to do through the book club is to let children know every family is equal," she said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
TAIPEI - Taiwan's parliament began debating Asia's first gay marriage law on Friday as conservative lawmakers launched a last-ditch attempt to scupper the most progressive bill in favor of a watered-down "civil-union" law.
Hundreds of gay rights supporters gathered despite heavy rain near Taipei's parliament as a mammoth legislative debate got under way over an issue that has bitterly divided the island.
Parliament is up against a ticking clock.
Taiwan's top court has ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry violates the constitution. Judges gave the government until May 24 this year to make the changes or see marriage equality enacted automatically. But they gave no guidance on how to do that.
With that deadline fast approaching, three bills have been tabled for Friday's vote -- which also happens to be the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
The most progressive is the government's bill, the only one to use the word "marriage" and to offer limited adoption rights.
It is backed -- begrudgingly -- by gay rights groups who see it as the closest thing to full equality with heterosexual couples, despite its limitations.
Opponents have tabled two other versions which avoid the word marriage, offering something closer to same-sex unions with no adoption rights.
Conservative and religious groups have been buoyed by a series of referendum wins in November, in which voters comprehensively rejected defining marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman.
FAMILIES DIVIDED
In a Facebook post President Tsai Ing-wen said she recognized the issue had divided "families, generations and even inside religious groups".
But she said the government's bill was the only one that respects both the court judgement and the referendum.
"Today, we have a chance to make history and show the world that progressive values can take root in an East Asian society," she added in a tweet.
Tsai's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds the majority in parliament, occupying 68 out of 113 seats.
But there is no guarantee her own lawmakers will vote for the more progressive bill, especially as many fear being punished by conservative voters at the ballot box in January.
One of the rival bills was proposed by a DPP lawmaker. And a last-minute amended version of the government's bill has been tabled by fellow lawmakers in the party, dropping the phrase "same-sex marriage".
However, it still lets same-sex couples join an "exclusive permanent union" and apply for a "marriage registration" with government agencies.
LGBT COMMUNITY IN LIMBO
Taiwan's LGBT community has been left in limbo the last two years, with many couples planning weddings ahead of the May 24th deadline but unsure of what marriage equality will look like.
"The world is watching to see if Taiwan's parliament will write a new page in gender equality or deal another blow to Taiwan's hard-fought democracy, human rights and the rule of law," said Jennifer Lu, a spokeswoman for Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan.
"For the gay communities what matters the most is whether we can legally get married on May 24 and be listed as the spouse in ID cards, to be treated and respected as the 'spouse' in the whole legal system ... and whether same-sex families can obtain legal parental rights for their children."
Cindy Su was one of thousands of gay marriage supporters gathered outside parliament on Friday ahead of the debate.
"We are just a group of people who want to live well on this land and who love each other," she told the crowd.
But opponents warn that "forcefully" passing a gay marriage law will intensify tensions.
"The cabinet's bill ignores the referendum results and that is unacceptable," said Lai Shyh-bao of the opposition Kuomintang party, who proposed one of the bills backed by conservatives.
aw/jta/ecl
source: news.abs-cbn.com
LOS ANGELES - The Mormon Church on Thursday announced it would now allow the children of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents to be baptized, regardless of whether the parents are members.
The decision is "effective immediately," said the Church, officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in a statement.
The new policy allows a child to be blessed as a baby and baptized at age eight.
"Previously, our handbook characterized same-gender marriage by a member as apostasy," or a denial of faith, the statement said.
"While we still consider such a marriage to be a serious transgression, it will not be treated as apostasy for purposes of Church discipline. Instead, the immoral conduct in heterosexual or homosexual relationships will be treated in the same way."
The Church added it wanted to "reduce the hate and contention so common today" -- but insisted its overall teachings had not changed.
"These changes do not represent a shift in Church doctrine related to marriage or the commandments of God in regard to chastity and morality," it said.
Founded in 1830, the Mormon Church, whose headquarters are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, has 16 million members and says its mission is to restore a true church in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ.
Its informal name refers to the "Book of Mormon" -- named after an old prophet -- which followers believe is a restored version of the true word of Jesus, rather than traditional Christian scripture.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also advocates for baptizing dead people who were not baptized while alive -- a practice which sees a living person baptized to baptize the dead person by proxy, even if they lived several generations before.
ban/sdu/caw/ska
source: news.abs-cbn.com
TOKYO - Chizuka Oe and Yoko Ogawa have been together for 25 years, but when they submitted their marriage registration at a Tokyo town hall, they knew it would be rejected.
"We were told that they cannot accept our registration because we are both women," said Ogawa, standing in the winter sun outside the building in Nakano in western Tokyo.
"There were several heterosexual couples next to us who submitted marriage registrations without any problem," she added.
The couple is now planning to take action: Along with 12 other same-sex couples, they will file lawsuits on Valentine's Day seeking to force the government to recognize gay marriage.
"Why don't we even have the simple choice of whether or not to get married?" asked Ogawa, who said she and Oe were forced to wait a long time before ultimately being turned down.
The 5 lesbian and 8 gay couples involved will file lawsuits across the country seeking damages of one million yen ($9000) a person for being denied the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.
Japan's constitution stipulates that "marriage shall be only with the mutual consent of both sexes" and the government says this means same-sex marriage is "not foreseen" in the constitution or civil law.
But lawyers for the plaintiffs and other legal experts counter that there is nothing in the constitution that would prohibit same-sex marriage.
They argue the language of the 1947 post-war constitution is only meant to ensure equality between prospective spouses and prevent forced marriages.
The government's failure to enact a law allowing same-sex marriage violates the constitutional principle that "all people are equal under the law," said Akiyoshi Miwa, who is representing some of the plaintiffs.
'AGONIZING' SITUATIONS
A survey in January found nearly 80 percent of Japanese aged 20 to 59 support legalizing gay marriage.
Japan is the only nation from the Group of Seven countries that does not recognize same-sex unions.
Historically, Japan was broadly tolerant of homosexuality, with documented cases of samurai warriors during feudal times having male lovers.
Same-sex relationships were even depicted in traditional art, such as ukiyoe, or wood block prints.
But as Japan industrialized and modernized from the late 19th century, Western prejudices against homosexuality were increasingly adopted.
Last year, the ruling party came under fire after one of its lawmakers claimed the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community was "unproductive" because they "cannot have children."
And Oe and Ogawa say they have struggled with confusion and prejudice stemming in part from Japan's lack of marriage equality.
When the couple attended the funeral for Ogawa's mother, relatives treated Oe with suspicion, particularly when she handled condolence money.
Ogawa said many relatives quizzed her on who Oe was.
She explained: "I was tired, sad, and in such an extreme situation it was agonising to explain that we are a lesbian couple, that we are the same as a regular heterosexual couple."
"If there was a legal system of same-sex marriage, it would have been easier," she added.
'A KEY GOAL'
In a landmark advance in 2015, Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district started issuing symbolic "partnership" certificates to same-sex couples.
Some other local governments -- including in the area where Oe and Ogawa live -- have followed suit, and corporate Japan is also showing signs of moving toward recognizing same-sex couples.
The certificate confers some rights: when Oe was hospitalized last year and needed a family member's signature, Ogawa was able to sign.
But not all gay couples in Japan live in areas with such certificates, meaning they can be prevented from visiting loved ones in hospitals or refused tenancy because their relationship is not legally recognized.
And the certificates "fail to give various legal rights and benefits that a marriage gives, such as inheritance and joint custody," said Takako Uesugi, another lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Only one partner in a same-sex couple is considered the legal parent of any children they share because gay marriages are not recognized so joint custody is considered impossible.
And a foreigner in a same-sex relationship with a Japanese partner cannot apply for spousal visas like their counterparts in heterosexual marriages.
The Valentine's Day lawsuits will seek damages, but the couples and their lawyers say they are ultimately hoping to force a change in the law.
"What we really want is a court ruling that says the failure to recognize same-sex marriage is unconstitutional," said Miwa.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
KUALA LUMPUR - When Taiwan's top court sided with Chi Chia-wei last year in a ruling that should have paved the way for same-sex marriage to be legalized, the activist thought his three-decade struggle was finally over.
But little progress has been made since.
Instead, Taiwan is set to hold a series of public votes on Nov. 24 to decide whether same-sex unions should be written into law, raising uncertainty whether there will be full marriage equality on the island.
"I am disappointed," said Chi, a veteran activist who was the first person to come out publicly as gay in Taiwan in 1986.
"The government could have passed a law on same-sex marriage soon after the court ruling if there was political will, but unfortunately reform has stalled," the 60-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from the capital Taipei.
Often spotted in rallies draped in a rainbow flag, Chi has campaigned relentlessly for same-sex marriage in his 30-year struggle, sending numerous petitions to authorities and courts.
He was jailed for five months in 1986 for robbery, an accusation he said was trumped up to intimidate his campaign soon after he filed the first petition for gay unions.
But his latest petition, in 2015, culminated in a historic ruling in May last year by Taiwan's constitutional court, which declared same-sex couples had the right to legally marry.
It was the first such decision in Asia and was cheered by campaigners in a region where conservative values and prejudice have long stood in the way of progress on gay rights.
Regarded as a beacon of liberalism in Asia, the self-ruled island of Taiwan has a vibrant gay scene that includes one of the biggest pride parades in the region and a wide range of gay-friendly bars and restaurants.
But despite this, socially conservative attitudes still largely hold sway, and those who oppose same-sex marriage say such unions could destroy society and family institutions.
The May 2017 court ruling gave the government a two-year deadline for legalization but did not give specific guidance on how laws regulating same-sex relationships should be drawn up.
Conservative groups seized on this to launch a bid for a referendum, calling for a separate law similar to civil partnership to be enacted for same-sex couples.
"Same-sex marriage will change our culture, our family values. Taiwan is not ready for drastic changes," said Tseng Hsien-ying from the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, which launched the anti-gay marriage referendum bid.
"If same-sex couples want to be together, we respect that but we want a separate law for them so that we don't redefine our law on marriage which should remain between a man and a woman," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Gay rights campaigners like Chi and others have rejected a separate law, saying it is discriminatory and offers fewer legal protections especially on the question of whether same-sex couples would be given the right to have children.
President Tsai Ing-wen said this year that society is still divided on same-sex marriage, although she campaigned on a promise of marriage equality in the run up to 2016 polls.
The Nov. 24 referendum, which coincides with local elections for mayors and magistrates, will see four questions related to same-sex marriage - two for and two against – put to a vote.
A fifth question about rolling back mandatory gender equality education in schools will also be on the ballot.
For the referendum to pass, at least 25 percent of some 19 million eligible voters must vote yes, and the government is obliged to propose laws that reflect their results.
It is unclear what will happen if the results are conflicting, given the number of questions put to the electorate.
‘DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN’
Pro-gay marriage activist Jennifer Lu predicted it would be hard for both sides to secure a clear victory.
The implication of the vote, however, would reach far beyond the gay and lesbian community in Taiwan, she said.
"We are at a very important moment because other countries in Asia are looking to see what is the final outcome here," said Lu, the chief coordinator of the Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan, an alliance of groups that support gay rights.
"Like us, they face struggles and challenges. If Taiwan can pass a full marriage right vote, it can become a good example to show everyone this is our basic rights, this is not some Western concept," she said.
Gay rights crusader Chi vowed to keep up his fight until Taiwan allows same-sex marriage for him and tens of thousands of others on the island.
Chi, who has a partner of 30 years, was optimistic he would live to see marriage equality on the island, saying more people have begun to accept same-sex marriage.
"That day will come," he said. "This is the darkness before dawn."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SEOUL - Led by a huge rainbow flag, tens of thousands of gay rights supporters paraded through Seoul's city center Saturday as conservatives protested loudly at what they called "obscenity".
The parade, estimated to be some 30,000 strong, made its way through the South Korean capital with participants dancing on open truck beds decorated with slogans and waving the rainbow flag of gay rights.
In recent years extreme conservatives and evangelist Christians have held rival rallies in attempts to block the progress of the annual march and put on their own performances to try and disrupt the festivities.
Fences were set up around the Seoul Square outside the City Hall Saturday and hundreds of police were deployed to keep the revellers and protesters apart.
Hundreds of Christians, waving flags with Christian crosses printed on them and thumping on drums, chanted anti-gay slogans and sang patriotic and evangelical songs.
Public tolerance towards sexual minorities in South Korea's tradition-bound society has been growing in step with the country's democratic development.
Homosexuality is not illegal but fears of discrimination and social isolation still prevent many people from coming out.
"I think the public attitude toward homosexuality has become much more receptive over the past few years", said a parade participant who identified himself as Psygay as he handed out leaflets promoting the country's gay rights movement.
"However, hate groups' animosity toward LGBT people has intensified all the more", he told AFP.
When he came out three years earlier, his mother and the only brother were shocked and saddened.
"After a while, my mother said she understood me as I am her son anyhow. But my brother still urges me to change", he said.
"My father? Oh, he still doesn't know", said Psygay.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
